Do I nee 2 sitemaps?

[FFTCOUK]

Our ecommerce software produces a sitemap.html which is very large.  We also use a sitemap.xml file for Google and other main search engines.  Is there any point in maintaining the sitemap.html or should we hide it?

[Mark_Jay_Apsey_Jr.]

Howard-

Do not maintain 2 sitemaps. But make sure you are optimizing your existing sitemap with all of the SEO value. Make sure with the ecommerce portion, that you arent losing any value by making sure you are properly indexing all of your ecommerce products in the "for google" sitemap. remember, the only thing that produces SEO value for you is the indexed sitemap.....

Cheers. Hope this helps. If so let us know.

Mark

[FFTCOUK]

Mark, Thank you.

In our sitemap.xml we use priorities 1 to 0.1 averaging out at about 0.5  is there much mileage in this?

Howard

[KeriMorgret]

There are two types of site maps. There are XML sitemaps for the search engines, and a regular page for the users.

The sitemap for the users does not need to include every page on your site. Check out how Verizon Wireless has done their sitemap. All of the sections are laid out, but there's just a link to smartphones -- not to each and every smartphone and its color variation. http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/sitemap.jsp When examining what to include on your site, remember users as well as search engines.

[FFTCOUK]

Thanks Keri,

That's useful

Howard